---
title: "Absolute Dominance: Matvey Ponomarenko Unanimously Named the Best Young Player of the UPL"
description: "Kyiv Dynamo forward Matvey Ponomarenko has been named the Best Young Player of the UPL for the 2025/26 season! 🏆 The 20-year-old striker received 54 out of 54 possible points in the club voting. To his credit is the title of the league's top scorer, 13 goals in 15 matches, and a successful debut for the Ukraine national team. ⚽🇺🇦"
date: 2026-06-11T13:52:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/matvey-ponomarenko-best-young-player-upl-2025-26
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Absolute Dominance: Matvey Ponomarenko Unanimously Named the Best Young Player of the UPL

![Matvey Ponomarenko kisses the medal of the best young player of the UPL, symbolizing his absolute dominance in the league](https://xab.info/media/2026/06/11/matvey-ponomarenko-luchshiy-molodyy-igrok-upl-2025-26/matvey-ponomarenko-luchshiy-molodyy-igrok-upl-2025-26-1.webp)

The Ukrainian Premier League has concluded the 2025/26 season with one of its most prestigious youth awards. Kyiv Dynamo forward Matvey Ponomarenko has been named the "Best Young Footballer." The "white-blues" top scorer secured a convincing victory in the traditional poll of elite division representatives, confirming his status as one of the country's brightest talents.

### Unanimous Recognition by Peers

The voting results, published on the official UPL website, speak to the unquestionable authority of the 20-year-old striker. According to the regulations, the best player in this category is chosen by representatives of all 16 league clubs. "Dynamo" was not allowed to vote for their own graduate, yet the remaining 15 teams unanimously turned their attention to Ponomarenko.

In 14 out of 15 ballots, the forward took first place, earning him a substantial 54 points. His closest rival — the goalkeeper of Lviv "Karpat", Nazar Domchak — scored only 18 points, taking second place. The top three was rounded out by "Dynamo" defender Taras Mykhavko, the winner of the award in the previous season (7 points).

### Phenomenal Effectiveness

Ponomarenko's recognition was a logical conclusion to his outstanding performance in the 2025/26 season. The striker has already won the title of the top scorer of the Ukrainian Premier League. In 15 matches of the elite division, he has 13 goals to his name. Furthermore, the forward demonstrates high effectiveness in other tournaments as well:

    - 2 goals in the Ukrainian Cup;

    - 1 goal in European competitions;

    - 8 goals in the U-19 league;

    - Successful performances at the U-20 World Cup.

Particular attention deserves his debut for the national team of Ukraine. In March 2026, receiving his first call-up from head coach Serhiy Rebrov, Ponomarenko immediately opened his scoring account for the country's main team.

### From Myronivka Academy to the Elite

Matvey Ponomarenko, born on January 11, 2006, in the city of Myronivka, Kyiv region, has traversed the path from a children's school to the peaks of Ukrainian football. A graduate of Sports School No. 1 and the Kyiv Dynamo academy, he is considered one of the most promising forwards of the new generation. He is distinguished by powerful physical attributes, sharp goal-scoring instinct, and quality play at the tip of the attack.

The victory in the voting allowed Ponomarenko to enter the history of the Kyiv club. He became the fifth "Dynamo" player to receive this trophy. Previously, this award was received by the capital team's Viktor Tsygankov, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Ilya Zabarnyi, and Taras Mykhavko. Over the years of the award's existence, laureates have been 14 players from 8 different clubs.